The Melbourne Cup Carnival gets underway today, Saturday October 31, with Victoria Derby Day 2020 taking place at Flemington Racecourse and below we have a look at the race day scratchings and track report ahead of the first.

Thousand Guineas winner Odeum heads the 2020 Empire Rose Stakes betting markets at Flemington on Derby Day. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Flemington Track Report – 31/10/2020

• Victoria Racing Club                    
• Rail: True Entire Circuit
• Weather: Overcast
• Dual Track Meeting: N
• Track Type: Turf
• Track Rating: Good (4)
• General Comment: Finalised 31/10 – 7:45am
• Irrigation: 5mm last 24 hours, 17mm last 7 days
• Rainfall: nil last 24 hours, 8.8mm last 7 days
• Track Information: Inspection 6AM 31/10; Going Stick 9.5 Inside 9.5 Outside 9.4 Shear 11.6 Moisture 35.5%

The weather in Melbourne today is partly cloudy but otherwise fine and without any chance of serious rainfall, the current Good (4) Flemington track rating looks set to remain in play across the afternoon.

Flemington racing kicks off early with the all-Group race program getting underway at 11:40am (AEDT) with the three-year-old milers in the Group 3 $250,000 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m).

Race 2 is the Group 2 $300,000 Wakeful Stakes (2000m) for the last-minute Kennedy Oaks-bound fillies, betting led by the Thousand Guineas runner-up Personal.

Race 3 – the Linlithgow Stakes – runs as the Group 2 TAB Stakes for sponsorship purposes, the Darley Classic ‘Straight Six’ sprint lead-up featuring all 10 final acceptors.

Race 4 is a key event with an eleventh-hour Melbourne Cup ballot exemption on the line for the winner of the Group 3 $200,000 Lexus Hotham Stakes (2500m), the field down to 10 after the withdrawal of #9 Attorney (3).

Race 5 is the first of four elite levels on the program, the fillies and mares facing off in the Group 1 $1 million Empire Rose Stakes field where the Thousand Guineas winner Odeum and champion mare Mystic Journey are in a betting battle through Ladbrokes.com.au.

The 2020 Empire Rose Stakes line-up is down to 13 following the notably scratching of Chris Waller’s last-start Tristarc Stakes winner Madam Rouge.

Race 6 continues the top-level racing with the three-year-old sprinters doing battle in the Group 1 $1.5 million Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m), the 14-starter field led in betting by the Chris Waller-trained filly September Run.

The meeting’s marquee race – the Group 1 $2 million Victoria Derby (2500m) – steals the show as Race 7 at 3:45pm (AEDT) and of the 14 three-year-old stayers in the classic it is the lightly-raced Young Werther for Danny O’Brien who leads betting.

Race 8 is the last of the Group 1 VRC Derby Day races with the $1.5 million Kennedy Cantala (1600m) featuring the Toorak Handicap winner Mr Quickie in an outside alley.

The card closer at 5:10pm (AEDT) is then the Group 3 Furphy Sprint for the mares where the Godolphin-raced Exhilarates (5) has come out.

See below for the full Victoria Derby Day 2020 race program and jump times before heading to Ladbrokes.com.au for the best Saturday racing odds and offers.

Flemington Scratchings – 31/10/2020

Total Scratchings:

Race 1 (11:40am) – Group 3 $250,000 Network 10 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m)

No current scratchings

Race 2 (12:20pm) – Group 2 $300,000 G.H. Mumm Wakeful Stakes (2000m)

No current scratchings

Race 3 (1:00pm) – Group 2 $300,000 TAB Stakes (2000m)

No current scratchings

Race 4 (1:40pm) – Group 3 $200,000 Lexus Hotham Stakes (2500m)

#9 Attorney (3)

Race 5 (2:20pm) – Group 1 $1,000,000 TAB Empire Rose Stakes (1600m)

#3 Madam Rouge (12)

Race 6 (3:00pm) – Group 1 $1,500,000 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m)

No current scratchings

Race 7 (3:45pm) – Group 1 $2,000,000 AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m)

No current scratchings

Race 8 (4:30pm) – Group 1 $1,500,000 Kennedy Cantala (1600m)

#17e Reykjavik (12)

#18e Junipal (17)

#19e Harbour Views (7)

#20e Reloaded (5)

Race 9 (5:10pm) – Group 3 $200,000 Furphy Sprint (1100m)

#1 Exhilarates (5)

*All times quoted are local (AEDT), odds from Ladbrokes.com.au, subject to change